Pack for books and the like



' Aug. 14, 1956 P. M. WILLIAMS PACK FOR BOOKS AND THE LIKE :5 Sheet-Sheet 1 Filed June 2, 1952 Zhwentor PHILIP M. WI

Qttomegs I Aug. 14, 1956 P M. WILLIAMS 2,758,772

PACK FOR BOOKS AND THE LIKE Filed June 2, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 3nventor PHILIP M.WILLI s @1151 aornegs Aug. 14, 1956 P. M. WILLIAMS PACK FOR BOOKS AND THE LIKE Filed June 2, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR United States Patent Ofiice 2,75th77i PA7CK- FOR BOOKS THE LIKE Philip lvf. William's, Qakianuf, Maine, assigridr' fokyes' Fibre Company, Portland, Maine, a corporation of lwa'ifie Application June 2, 1952; Serial N02 291,148 9- Claims. or. 229:

The present invention relates to a protective covering. for articles that are shipped as by being; transported through the mails. More particularly the invention re?" lanes to a protective pack formed of moldedpulp rna terial which is adapted to protect such articles; as books" and the like from damage due to hadling while being transported individually in the mails. v v

Prior to the instant invention it has been the general; practiceto protect articles such as books for shipment through the mails by providing covers of one type or another which were placed over some or allthe faces of the book and covered with wrapping paper which could be marked with the necessary shipping information. However such covers are either too bulky and expensive or they do not provide the desired protection, particularly for the corners of the covers or the books which becomecreased and bent toan objectionable degree- I it is an object of the present invention; toprovide a simple andefiective protective coveringafor books and like articles which is' relatively inexpensive and can he made from molded pulp materials. It. is a further-object of the invention to provide a protective covering. for books and like articles which is of general utility and readily adaptable to protect booksofvarious thicknesses. Another object of the invention is to providea protec tive covering for books and like articles which will com; pletely and adequately protect the cor-ner ed'ges aswell as; the remainder of the book duringf ship'meiit'. Still another obi ect of the invention is the el'hninafibn of the needfo additional wrap ing or coveringrnateria'l for the protected article i In general this" invention is directed to providinga preteet'ive covering for books. as a gen ally recon far she t of molded pulp fibershavin upwardly ex" p'ripheral side walls there'abouf to form a Beck-re, tray, an intermedia e rfaise'd rib portion ha in a h g thahtharof the side walls toprovi'de' a hook-s porring sur ace, aha the" side walls having pests d v h' fa elk-receivin zone that keeps the corners of the 15661: spaced fremthe corners of the sheet, a p

According to one embodiment of the invehrronrhefe a e provided two protector she'et's' of the" which she ets may" he identie adapted to ove'riie the re pective more so? the I coversand fil-ll'y rotect them from the rigors '01 modern mailing and transportation systems. This f tirih of the in mien utilizes a molded pul'p sheer having rectangu- Iaf configura ion which can" be ofa', u iform c'ro'ssF sect onal" dimension, the boundary edge es joff the sheet being, formed to have a peripheral ahgu'lhfly'relhfed flange surface which is adapted to overlie the hol'iridary' edge surfaces of. the book covers and fhrther" protect thhidu-rihgshipmenh v t v Accordingwto another embodiment of the invention there is provided a protective coverinthe form, of an integrals single molded p'ulp sheet having;opposed sur- 70 races whichiareadapted to overlie and protect the op; pos edcover surfaces of a book.

2,758,772 Patented Aug. 14, 1956 According to" a still further form of the invention there isaprovid'ed aprotective covering for books and like articles similar in construction to" the first form specified bu-tineludi-n'g foldab'le cover flanges onthe boundary edges ofthe/rectangular protective sheet which better protectthe pages of the enclosed bookand also provide sealing flaps against which an adherently held tape is afiixed toe'omplete the package.

Although' many variations in accordance, with the generictenor oi the invention are possible, the following specific examples will clearly illustrate the basic premises thereof; and in which:

Fi'g;- 1 is aplan view of a protector fla-t constructed in accordancewith one form ot the invention;

2 in asectional view of said one form of the invention depicting t-wo protector-flats in cooperation with a book-that is thereby protected, the section being taken as alongthe line 2-2 of Fig. 1-;

Fig. 3 a-sec-tionalview along the line 3-3 of Fight illustrating top and bottom protectors sandwiched about abook and irr cooperation with an external wrapper;

,Fig: 4is a sectional detail view similar to Fig; 3- of a modified form of my invention; I Q g s Fig, 5 is a fragmentary planview of the modified formof the invention shown in Fig. f1;- and Figf. 6 is a plan view of a still further modified form of the invention.- 1 i t eference will now be had to the form of the invention illustrated in Fig s. 1 through 31 inclusive Fig. illustrates one ofthe' hook protector-flats utiliz'ed accord ing 'tothe invention in which the protector 1 is for-med of a molded pulp material and shaped to have a generally flat surface of a rectangularconfiguration, the corners of the sheet being rounded: to increase the stiffness of't he coir iier section. The edges of the rectangular surface terminate" in angular-1y related, upstanding peripheral side wali'sflz integrally formed with the body or the protector sheet I, peripheral lip or flange portion 3 is formed to extend laterally f the to edge ofthe flange and is integrally conn tedther'ewith. This lip can a'dvisedly be generally parallel to the general plane ofthe rec'tan'g"h l"ar" sheet 1. g

, As will be noted from an inspection of the fig re; the la r" wa -11$ 2 are eonstructed tdhave" Conan-1y projef' t g pus-n 4 for "d lays-earthly located webs 5 and 6 adjacent each corner or the sheet for the pur ose fr e2 inaft er explained. At the posts the peripheral lip 3 can exrehnfi wardlh as far as" the posts will permit. 7

,Ifi 'nte'r re'diate ortions 0f the rectangular sli'ef, f there is provided" a raised r'ib structure including an ou'tf has and a central rib 11. The outer rib has afignlarly re'l'atetlf opposing side walls a interconnected by a continuou's" c'e'I'itr'al" web a, the rib s ructure extending up from" the surface of the sheet a height substanti lyequa'l to" hair that-er the flan'ge's 2. Adjacent each comer of the rectan le formed by rib 8 generally diagonal exten s'ions mpro'jct townd each' cernero'f the sheet 1* for the purpose hereinafter explained: Rib i'tha's' opposedanginlarly related side walls 12 and 1 3; all integrally eon: heated by a central; raised web 141 Ribs 8 andalf provies cushioning and prdtec'tien for the cover surfacfs of thE hooks lild sandwiched bet-Weefi two shelf protector dark as: shownin' Fig. 2' for example;- The an ular relatedaside walls of the raised ribs-provide very eneenve cushioning; although-these walls can also' more closely approachperp'endicularity with respect to' the plane" of thesheet-if desiredt Itis prefierred that the rib structure hav e a book-supporting height less than the heightiofi side,

Walls 2', so that-a book placed in the tray-like sbeet staysx place and shows no tendency to slip oil or out; 'This makes for better cushioning and easier handling, as forwrapping or sealing.

The posts 4 on the walls 2 provide boolZ-positionin g stops that engage the side edges of a book placed in the tray-like sheet and thereby keep the corners of the book spaced from the corners of the sheet. This is more clearly shown in Fig. 3 and provides much-needed cushioning for the book corners. Corner stresses will in this construction be absorbed by the packaging sheets which can be deformed to a considerable extent before the book corner begins to be stressed. In addition, the configuration at the sheet corners includes convolutions that greatly stiffen the corners so that they show surprising resistance to deformation. The ability of the protector sheet to resist bending or creasing at the corner portions thereof is particularly enhanced by the protected rib portions 10.

These posts 4 are positioned to define a book-receiving zone corresponding in dimension to the book to be packaged. As shown more clearly in Fig. 2, the bound edge of the book contacts the walls 6 on the opposite side of the sheet, as do the top and bottom edges of the book along the short sides of the sheet. Fig. 2 shows the operation of this novel protector in covering a book for mailing or shipping. One such protector sheet is placed with its flat surface on any supporting medium and a book is inserted between the upstanding walls 2 where it is securely cushioned by the raised ribs 8 and 11. A second identical protector-flat can then be placed over the exposed top cover surface of the book with the wall of the second sheet facing the wall of the first sheet. The binding and the corners of the covers of the book are protected by the walls 2 which extend far beyond the surface of such covers. A binder such as wrapping paper 32 can then be folded around the exterior surfaces of the two covers, tightly pressing them against the surface of the book and providing a simple and compact packing unit.

The use of two separate identical protector flats provides a unique flexibility in a protector unit which is readily adapted to properly protect books or other articles of widely varying thicknesses.

Figs. 4 and illustrate another form of the invention which is adapted to provide an integral packing unit for books and like objects from a single, integral sheet of molded pulp fiber. This protector flat consists of two surface-covering areas, 15 and 16, integrally connected together. As shown in these figures, the opposed covering surfaces, 15 and 16, of the protector sheet can each be formed to be identical with that of Fig. l and need not be further described. The two opposing identical covering surfaces are integrally connected by an intermediate, rectangular strip 20 connecting two adjacent flange or rim portions 3 of the surfaces 15 and 16 together.

As shown in Fig. 4, the application of this type of protector is exceedingly simple. A book is inserted in one of the protector surfaces (here illustrated as 16) with the exposed page portion facing the connecting strip 20. The other protector surface is then folded over the exposed upper surface of the book bringing the strip 20 into substantially parallel relationship to the exposed page portion of the book and completely shielding it from any harmful or damaging external contacts. Wrapping paper can then be placed over the protector unit, or the free edges of the protecting surfaces 15 and 16 can be taped together or sealed by gummed paper.

This type of protector is of particular utility in publishing establishments which have relatively small variation in thickness for their publications. With this construction it is possible to completely eliminate the need for additional wrapping material, as the opposed covering surfaces can be securely bound together by the abovenoted taping or gummed sealing strips. If desired, the juncture of the connecting strip 20 with the adjacent ribs 3 can be weakened as by score lines to aid the folding of the protector over the enclosed book. In fact, as shown in Fig. 5, a multiplicity of score lines 34 can be provided to make the sheet more readily suited to books of varying thickness.

Fig. 6 illustrates a further modification of the invention. In this form of the invention a protector flat is formed from molded pulp material which is shaped along the same general lines, as illustrated in Fig. 1. In the construction of Fig. 6, however, each peripheral lip or rim surface 3 along the top edge of the angularly extending flange 2 is formed to have an integral rectangular strip 25 attached thereto. This strip is adapted to be folded along the normal boundary surface of the rim 3 to form a second stepped flange or wall surface for protecting the edge surfaces of the pages within the covers of the protected book. The folding of these strips may also be facilitated by scoring the material along the normal peripheral boundary of the lip or rim 3.

The application of this type protector-flat to a book is identical to that in the Fig. 1 form of the invention with the exception that the strips 25 are folded upwardly from the plane of the rim 3 to cover the edges of the books pages.

Two such modified protectors may be used together and the separate strip sections 25 on the respective bottom and top (or front and back) protector-covers may be interleaved together if the packed book is very thin. In any case, the pair of protectors utilized may be bound together by wrapping in paper or the like, or merely by taping the adjacent flap edges together, as by using a wide gummed paper strip to cement together the adjacent faces of the flap. Any desired mailing information can be provided by an adherently held shipping label or the like secured to the outside face of the pack.

From the above disclosures it can be readily appreciated that the invention provides an effective and simple protector assembly for books and like articles which is inexpensive to manufacture, is of light weight, and is extremely easy and speedy to apply. Furthermore, the instant invention renders it practicable to eliminate the use of the customary additional wrapping material in the prior art packing ystems, with a consequent saving in the costs of labor and materials.

As many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention may be made without departing from the spirit and scope hereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific embodiments hereof except as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A packing flat for books comprising a substantially flat, rectangular, molded pulp sheet, a peripheral flange on each edge of said sheet, said flanges extending upwardly from the plane of said sheet and being connected at their corners to form a peripheral wall, a generally rectangular rib structure inwardly spaced from said peripheral wall, said rib structure being provided with diagonal extensions at each corner, said diagonal extensions being directed toward the corners of said peripheral well, said rib structure and its extensions extending to a height intermediate the plane of said sheet'and the top plane of said peripheral wall, and at least one lateral indentation extending inwardly from each peripheral flange forming said peripheral wall, said indentations being so arranged that an indentation on each flange combines with a corresponding indentation on each connected flange to, at least partially, pocket the corresponding extension of said rib structure.

2. The packing flat of claim 1 wherein said rib structure is hollow, comprising four ribs, each arranged parallel to a corresponding peripheral flange, each of said ribs being connected to the adjacent rib by means of one of said diagonal extensions, said extensions terminating short of the corresponding corner of the peripheral wall.

wall and being integrally connected with said peripheral wall at said corners.

5. The packing flat of claim 1 wherein a hinged flap extends from each edge of said sheet.

6. A packing device for books comprising two packing flats, each of said flats comprising a substantially flat, rectangular, molded pulp sheet, a peripheral flange on each edge of said sheet, said flanges extending upwardly from the plane of said sheet and being connected at their corners to form a peripheral wall, a generally rectangular rib structure inwardly spaced from said peripheral wall, said rib structure being provided with diagonal extensions at each corner, said diagonal extensions being directed toward the corners of said peripheral wall, said rib structure and its extensions extending to a height intermediate the plane of said sheet and the top plane of said peripheral wall, and at least one lateral indentation extending inwardly from each peripheral flange forming said peripheral wall, said indentations being so arranged that an indention on each flange combines with a corresponding indentation on each connected flange to, at least partially, pocket the corresponding extension of said rib structure, said flats being reversed in face-to-face relationship to each other, and being connected at one corresponding edge of each sheet by an integrally formed hinge strip.

7. The packing device of claim 6 wherein said rib structure is hollow, comprising four ribs, each arranged parallel to a corresponding peripheral flange, each of said ribs being connected to the adjacent rib by means of one of said diagonal extensions, said extensions terminating short of the corresponding corner of the peripheral wall.

8. The packing device fo claim 6 wherein said rib structure comprises a narrow, elongated rib at the center of said sheet, said diagonal extensions projecting from opposite edges of said rib to each corner of said peripheral wall and being integrally connetced with said peripheral wall at said corners.

9. A book package comprising two packing flats, each of said flats comprising a substantially flat, rectangular,

molded pulp sheet, a peripheral flange on each edge of said sheet, said flanges extending upwardly from the plane of said sheet and being connected at their corners to form a peripheral wall, a generally rectangular rib structure inward-1y spaced from said peripheral wall, said rib structure being provided with diagonal extensions at each corner, said diagonal extensions being directed toward the corners "of said peripheral wall, said rib structure and its extensions extending to a height intermediate the plane of said sheet and the top plane of said peripheral wall, and at least one lateral indentation extending inwardly from each peripheral flange forming said peripheral wall, said indentations being so arranged that an indentation on each flange combines with a corresponding indentation on each connected flange to, at least partially, pocket the corresponding extension of said rib structure, said flats being reversed in face-to-face relationship to each other, and a book positioned between said sheets with the rib structures abutting the flat sides of said book to space said book from the sheets, and with said lateral indentations abutting against the edges of said book to space said book from the remainder of said peripheral wall, the corners of said book being spaced from the corners of said peripheral wall.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS D. 86,062 Shepard Jan. 19, 1932 D. 95,290 Sherman Apr. 16, 1935 1,137,126 Fuller Apr. 27, 1915 1,543,443 Koppelman June 23, 1925 1,929,944 Chaplin Oct. 10, 1933 2,093,280 Koppel'man Sept. 14, 1937 2,423,756 Chaplin July 8, 1947 2,515,113 Chaplin July 11, 1950 2,560,847 Chaplin July 17, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 15,698 Great Britain 1914 

